New Jersey’s Disappearing Doctors
Posted: Sep 26, 2013 10:17 AM EST Updated: Sep 26, 2013 11:25 AM EST
By Tamara Laine, @ChasingTamara
Neptune, New Jersey (My9NJ) –
New Jersey is experiencing a shortage of doctors. In fact, it’s projected that by 2020 the state will be about 3,000 primary care physicians short of what is needed to give optimal health care.
So why are doctors fleeing the Garden State?
According to Deborah Briggs, the President and CEO of the Council of Teaching Hospitals, New Jersey loses nearly 70% of the doctors it educates to other states. This is well below the national average of a 48% retention rate.
In other words, in 2013 New Jersey only kept about 34% of the doctors who were educated and trained in the state.
A Short Guide to Obamacare
by Matt Faherty
September 23, 2013
It’s not a national healthcare system. It’s not the free market. It isn’t what we’ve had for the last forty years. So what is Obamacare?
Maybe I am too late to write about this topic since the Affordable Care Act has already been passed and is in the process of implementation. Then again, the bill is infamously opaque, and I believe very few people, either in Washington, the media, or the general public understand what Obamacare is, or how it will make healthcare more affordable. A study in the Journal of Health Economics published this month claims that only 14% of Americans between ages 25 and 64 have a basic understanding of how insurance works, let alone how Obamacare will effect it. Nobody even seems to know how long the bill is with estimates ranging from 10,000 to 33,000 pages of mind-numbing bureaucratic documents.
According to Nancy Pelosi we should start to know what is in the bill at this point, so I will take a crack at it.
Overview
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a jumble of convoluted regulations designed to encourage economic interactions which are uneconomical.
Over the last fifty years, extensive government intervention has distorted the private healthcare market beyond repair, resulting in skyrocketing costs and premiums. With tens of millions of Americans priced out of the health insurance market, Obamacare seeks to increase coverage by mandating individuals, businesses, and insurance companies into the existing market structure.
If that last sentence doesn’t make a lot of sense, that’s because it doesn’t. Thirty to fifty million Americans were not insured in 2010 for a reason: because it’s not feasible to do so (for most of them at least). The actuarial models used by health insurance companies suggest that insuring such people will cost more money in the long run than it would produce. Therefore, no private, for-profit company will touch theses uninsured individuals.
The reason Obamacare is an incomprehensible pile of minute regulations is because every single attempt by the state to alter the market creates five worse problems in its wake, which are subsequently “fixed” by more regulations, which create more problems, and so on and so forth.
It would take a monumental effort to go through the reasoning behind every component of the bill. For the sake of this article, I will just look at a few major components and their effects on the economy.
Gold Star Mother’s Day Commemoration – September 29
On Sunday, September 29, 2013 our Nation honors our Gold Star Mothers and families. The Presidential Proclamation in 2011 commemorating this day pronounces, “As members of a grateful Nation, we owe a debt we can never repay, but hold this sacred obligation forever in our hearts, minds, and actions. We honor their sacrifice, and stand with our service members, military families, and Gold Star families as they have stood for us.” The American Legion Post 53 and Ridgewood NJ’s Blue Star Families are committed to bringing awareness to our community and to commemorate the sacrifices these mothers and their families have made for our Country.
In the aftermath of World War I, Washington D.C. resident Grace Darling Seibold formed an organization called Gold Star Mothers to support the moms who had lost sons and daughters to the war. Grace’s son, First Lieutenant George Vaughn Seibold, was an aviator killed in combat over France in 1918. In 1928, the small D.C.-based group decided to nationalize its efforts. In 1936, a joint congressional resolution established the last Sunday in September as Gold Star Mother’s Day. The Gold Star Mothers grew from a support group of 60 women to today’s extensive nationwide network with tens of thousands of members and hundreds of local chapters.
In Ridgewood, NJ we again will commemorate Gold Star Mother’s Day with an event on Sunday, September 29th at Van Neste Park. There will be a ceremony at 7:00 p.m. until 7:15 p.m. and the luminaries will be lit from 7 – 9 p.m. to honor Gold Star Mothers and their families, but in addition, the goal is to see thousands of other luminaries lit throughout Ridgewood and other towns on September 29th to honor the Gold Star Mothers and families!
Everyone can stand together in honoring the Gold Star Mothers and families by helping to raise awareness through:
• talking to your family, friends, and neighbors about the event;
• joining us at Van Neste Park; and,
• supporting this event with a donation (please make checks payable to the American Legion Post #53, write “Gold Star event” on the memo line, and send it to the American Legion Post #53, P.O. Box 1525, Ridgewood, NJ 07450).
Cory Booker’s e-flirt with raunchy stripper
By Beth DeFalco
September 26, 2013 | 2:24am
Cory Booker has made an online friend who loves attention as much as he does — a bleached-blond, vegan stripper, with a topless photo on her Twitter page and a tattoo eagle flying out of her bikini bottom.
The Newark mayor, the Democratic candidate for Senate in New Jersey’s special election on Oct. 16, has been gushing over the Oregon pole-dancer on Twitter for months.
In one direct message he told her, “The East Coast loves you and by the East Coast, I mean me.”
Dancer Lynsie Lee — whose bare-breasted Twitter profile describes her as having “wits and t-ts” — has returned the love. She’s posted screen shots of her exchanges with Booker online and tweeted images of herself with pictures of him.
Postal Service proposes 3-cent rate hike for stamps
Gary Strauss, USA TODAY
First-class postage stamps could rise to 49 cents starting in 2014 under a Wednesday proposal by the cash-strapped U.S. Postal Service. The increase would raise about $2 billion in additional revenue a year.
Under the plan, first-class mail postage would rise 3 cents, or 6.5%. Pricing for other mail, including postcards and packages, would also rise on Jan. 26.
The Postal Service’s governing board said the increases are needed due to the “precarious financial condition” of the Postal Service, which is under congressional mandate to fund billions in future retirement benefits of postal workers.
“Of the options currently available to the Postal Service to align costs and revenue, increasing postage prices is a last resort that reflects extreme financial challenges,” Board of Governors Chairman Mickey Barnett said.
A Perfect Storm in New Jersey’s Senate Race?
By Peter Roff
When New Jersey Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg died earlier this year, there were few people who believed the Republicans had a chance of picking up the seat. Pundits, conservatives and liberals alike believed Newark Mayor Cory Booker would simply walk into the Senate as Lautenberg’s successor. They didn’t count on former Bogota, N.J. Mayor Steve Lonegan who, according to the latest Quinnipiac Poll, is making it a real race.
Lonegan has been stumping up and down the Garden State making the case for his candidacy while Booker, who has apparently bought into all the pre-election hype, has spent a significant portion of his time campaigning out of state in places like California.
The Quinnipiac poll confirms what several private polls have already shown: it’s a 12 point race. Lonegan is down 41 percent to 53 percent among the 948 likely voters surveyed, meaning it’s still not quite a horse race; but the former businessman and long-time political activist has cut Booker’s lead in half with virtually no money and with almost no outside support.
Why is Lonegan as close as he is? Some people suggest it’s a by-product of the national environment. Voters are looking for an opportunity to register their disapproval with President Barack Obama’s leadership, as reflected in his falling approval numbers, and with his signature health care law, which on paper is scheduled to go into effect shortly but which has been beset by delays that have forced the administration to issue waivers and shift deadlines forward.
Maple Field turf in Ridgewood will get extensive cleanup
WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 25, 2013, 9:58 AM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
The weathered turf at Maple Park Field will receive a much-needed facelift, and officials are confident the pending work will not interfere with any upcoming sports schedules.
The Ridgewood Council will formally vote Oct. 9 on a capital budget resolution appropriating a total of $41,580 to pay for the complete restoration and extensive cleaning of the artificial turf, which over the past eight to nine years has been reduced to a hard and potentially hazardous playing surface. The village will be reimbursed half the total cost through a Bergen County Open Space matching grant.
Council members initially questioned the project’s high price tag, as previous maintenance at Maple Park did not approach the total of the proposed work. According to Tim Cronin, head of Ridgewood’s Parks and Recreation Department, this restoration project is a different task.
Plan to merge Bergen County Police and Sheriff’s Office will be ‘dead on arrival,’ official warns
Wednesday, September 25, 2013 Last updated: Wednesday September 25, 2013, 11:45 PM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER
The Record
A Democratic proposal to merge the Bergen County Police Department into the Sheriff’s Office will be “dead on arrival” if it reaches County Executive Kathleen Donovan, the county administrator warned the freeholders on Wednesday.
County Administrator Ed Trawinski said Donovan will veto any such plan, which he contends would go beyond the powers that state law gives to freeholders under the county-executive form of government.
“This plan is not a plan. It’s a scheme that’s dead on arrival,” Trawinski told the board during their work session.
“What you’re doing is against the will of the voters who created this form of government,” he added, referring to the referendum that created the county executive job 27 years ago.
No action was taken on the proposal, which is expected to be crafted into an ordinance that will be introduced at the next board meeting on Oct. 2.
But several Democratic freeholders said they were confident their plan would have enough support to overcome a veto and survive any legal challenge.
– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/bergen/Democratic_plan_to_merge_Bergen_Countys_police_department_and_sheriffs_office_will_be_dead_on_arrival_administrator_warns.html#sthash.Vu3x5kMt.dpu
Obama on Obamacare: “We did raise taxes on some things.”
“Some things” means uninsured families, med devices,flex accounts, small businesses, people with high medical bills and even charitable hospitals.
During his Tuesday remarks at the Clinton Global Initiative, President Obama admitted that his health care law raises taxes: “So what we did — it’s paid for by a combination of things. We did raise taxes on some things.”
“Some things” is an understatement. Below is just a partial list of Obamacare’s new or higher taxes on Americans:
Starting in tax year 2013:
Obamacare Medical Device Tax: Medical device manufacturers employ 409,000 people in 12,000 plants across the country. Obamacare imposes a new 2.3 percent excise tax on gross sales – even if the company does not earn a profit in a given year. In addition to killing small business jobs and impacting research and development budgets, this will make everything from pacemakers to artificial hips more expensive.
Obamacare High Medical Bills Tax: Before Obamacare, Americans facing high medical expenses were allowed a deduction to the extent that those expenses exceeded 7.5 percent of adjusted gross income (AGI). Obamacare now imposes a threshold of 10 percent of AGI. Therefore, Obamacare not only makes it more difficult to claim this deduction, it widens the net of taxable income.
According to the IRS, 10 million families took advantage of this tax deduction in 2009, the latest year of available data. Almost all are middle class. The average taxpayer claiming this deduction earned just over $53,000 annually. ATR estimates that the average income tax increase for the average family claiming this tax benefit will be $200 – $400 per year. To learn more about this tax, click here..
Congressmen Scott Garrett took a break from DC to speak with his constituents at the Larkin House in Wyckoff on Tuesday night .
September 20, 2013
Ridgewood NJ, Before his visit Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ) issued the following statement after the House passed a Continuing Resolution to fund the government through December 15, 2013 that defunds ObamaCare:
“Today, I voted for a bill that would fund the government in full, except for ObamaCare. ObamaCare continues to be a train wreck. The strain it puts on our families, our businesses, and our economy is very real. Businesses are reluctant to expand and hire new workers. Employees have seen their hours reduced and their health insurance costs go up. And, even President Obama knows ObamaCare is unworkable. Just recently, the president had to delay the employer mandate. ObamaCare is not working for America. I cast my vote today for my constituents, the great state of New Jersey, and the majority of Americans who all know that ObamaCare must be immediately defunded and replaced.”
Congressmen Scott Garrett took a break from DC to speak with his constituents at the Larkin House in Wyckoff on Tuesday night .
Questions ranged from : ” Global Warming” , the budget , Obamacare , Ted Cruz , Common Core and Steve Lonegan’s surge in the polls .
Fifth District Mobile Constituent Service Office Hours — October 2013
NEWTON, NJ – Congressman Garrett’s Fifth District STAFF will be available at the following locations during the month of October:
October 3rd, 2013
River Vale: 9:30am to 11:30am
Municipal Building
406 Rivervale Rd
River Vale, NJ
West Milford: 10:00am to 12:00pm
Borough Hall
1480 Union Valley Road
West Milford, NJ
October 8th, 2013
Closter: 9:30am to 11:30am
Closter Public library
280 High Street
Closter, NJ
October 9th, 2013
Mahwah: 1:00pm to 3:00pm
Mahwah Senior Center
475 Corporate Drive
Mahwah, NJ
October 10th, 2013
Montvale: 1:00pm to 2:30pm
Borough Hall
12 Mercedes Drive
Montvale, NJ
October 15th, 2013
Westwood: 1:00pm to 2:30 p.m
Borough Hall, 101
Washington Avenue
Westwood, NJ
October 16th, 2013
Vernon: 11:00am to 1:00pm
Senior Center
21 Church Street
Vernon, NJ
October 17th, 2013
Hackensack: 9:30am to 11:30am
Johnson Public Library
274 Main Street
Hackensack, NJ
October 24th, 2013
Oakland: 11:00am to 1:00pm
Oakland Senior Center
20 Lawlor Drive
Oakland, NJ
Americans also paid a record of $82.212 billion in state and local general sales and gross receipts taxes in the second quarter of this year.
Census: State and Local Income, Sales, Motor Fuel, Motor Vehicle, and Alcoholic Beverage Taxes Hit All-Time Highs in 2nd Quarter
September 24, 2013 – 1:04 PM
By Terence P. Jeffrey
(CNSNews.com) – Revenues from state and local individual income taxes, general sales and gross receipt taxes, motor fuel taxes, motor vehicle taxes and taxes on alcoholic beverages each hit all-time highs in the second quarter of this year, according to data released today by the Census Bureau.
That means that in no quarter of any year since the Census Bureau first started tracking state and local tax revenues in 1962 have Americans paid more in each of these categories of state and local taxes then they did in the quarter that ran from April through June of 2013.
Americans paid a record of $114.032 billion in state and local individual income taxes in the second quarter of this year, according to the Census Bureau. That was up $7.787 billion—or 7.3 percent—from the previous all-time record of $106.245 billion in state and local individual income taxes that Americans paid in the second quarter of 2008.
Americans also paid a record of $82.212 billion in state and local general sales and gross receipts taxes in the second quarter of this year. That was up $1.85 billion—or 2.3 percent—from the previous record of $80.362 billion in general sales and gross receipts taxes American paid in the second quarter of 2008.
Americans paid a record of $11.254 billion in state and local motor fuels taxes in the second quarter of 2013. That was up $135 million—or 1.2 percent—from the previous record of $11.119 billion paid in the second quarter of 2012.
Lobbyists cheer plan to jam Dems by linking debt hike to tax reform
By Kevin Bogardus and Megan R. Wilson – 09/24/13 05:30 AM ET
Tax lobbyists are cheering the House Republican plan to jam Democrats on tax reform, viewing it as perhaps their last chance for success this year.
K Street insiders say the move by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) to include tax reform deadlines in a debt-ceiling bill could be the game-changer they need to get legislation moving in Congress.
“We could talk tax reform to death,” said John Guzik, a founding partner at Franklin Partnership. “This forces both chambers to act.”
There’s no guarantee that Camp’s gambit will succeed, as Democrats are insistent that they will not accept any debt-ceiling legislation that isn’t “clean” of other provisions.
Brazil’s president condemns NSA spying
By Colum Lynch, Published: September 24
UNITED NATIONS — Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff on Tuesday delivered a stinging rebuke of electronic espionage by the National Security Agency, telling a gathering of world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly that American eavesdropping constitutes “a breach of international law and an affront” to Brazil’s sovereignty.
America’s spying efforts pose a threat to democracy throughout the world, Rousseff said, as she proposed that the United Nations establish legal guidelines to prevent “cyberspace from being used as a weapon of war.”
“Without the right of privacy, there is no real freedom of speech or freedom of opinion, and so there is no actual democracy,” Rousseff said. And “without respect for [a nation’s] sovereignty, there is no basis for proper relations among nations.”
A series of disclosures about U.S. surveillance in Brazil — based on leaks by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden — have caused a furor in that country. Earlier this month, Rousseff canceled a state visit to Washington over the revelations.
RHS Marching Band Is on CBS New York’s ,‘The Couch’
On Friday, September 27, the Ridgewood High School Marching Band, under the direction of John Luckenbill, will be featured on CBS New York’s, ‘The Couch’. The show airs live from 7-9 a.m. and will be reported by Alex Denis.
The show can been seen on WLNY TV 10/55; be sure to check your provider’s listings for the specific channel. The RHS Marching Band, made up of 96 members, will be performing part of their 2013 show, ‘Rush Hour’, during the live taping of the show. The director and students will also be interviewed about the work that goes in to putting Marching Band show together.
The RHSMB performs at all home football games, as well as 6 competitions throughout the season. Competitions include performances at venues such as MetLife Stadium and Rutgers University’s High Point Solution Stadium. For a full schedule of the RHS Marching Band’s performances and competitions, and to learn more about the RHS Band Program, visit www.rhsbands.org.
